Pneumatic tires configured from rubber, organic fiber materials, steel members, and the like have hitherto been employed in vehicles such as cars.
Recently, the use of resin materials, in particular thermoplastic resins, thermoplastic elastomers, and the like, as tire materials is being investigated in consideration of light weight, ease of molding, and ease of recycling thereof.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2003-104008 and JP-A No. H03-143701 disclose a pneumatic tire formed using a thermoplastic polymer material.